it wasn't a very good match aside from maybe the first set. The great thing is Milos was still showing competitive spirit despite being down so we know he's got the mental aspect of the game well-polished.

But what I don't understand is why he cannot hit a semi-decent backhand in rallies. People are saying he's got the worst backhand in the top 50; I think it's even worse than that to be honest. Right now he runs around 90% of his backhands to hit a forehand but if his opponent makes a decent return to the other side of the court, he's way out of position and we already know his movement is not his forte (which I can understand for a big man). I look at other big men in the tour and guys like Berdych, and Del Potro can hit numerous winners off their backhand in a single match so it's not impossible.

Of course, Milos is younger so he has more time and he is still relatively new to the tour. I really hope he can make improvements on his backhand this off-season because if not, I see a consistent top 30 player but not a consistent top 10

he is running around his backhand more these days than last year. I'm not sure what's up with that strategy. I mean it's fine to do it if the opportunity is there, but not all the time, not when you will be too off-balance/poorly positioned to hit the forehand properly (or to get to the next shot).

I think this match would have been much closer during the day. The conditions last night could not have been better for Murray, cold, damp and windy. Milos got 70% 1st serves in, but I don't think he was playing them with more margin than normal, and I don't think he was really feeling it with his 2nd serve either.

But even then, Murray played lights out. So many insane passing shots and so few UE. Against Lopez, Murray had 48 UE (and only 53 winners), against Milos, 12 UE and 31 winners. The cool temperatures let Murray run around like a mad-man as well.

I also liked that Milos really changed tactics towards the end by really coming into the net. But I think he needs to do that more, especially off his 1st serve when his opponent is just chipping it back like Murray was. Intead of trying to play an offbalance half-volley shot after a good chip return, if he replaced that with a swinging volley from just beyond the service line, that return would be neutralized. The other play I think he needs to do more is the body serve.

Anyways, clearly Milos needs to work on the return, in particular the 2nd serve return, along with continued improvement in his groundstrokes. But I believe he and Blanco know that.

I agree that Milos should have considered more net play, maybe even a few more S&V plays as Milos is actually fairly decent at net (thanks to some doubles experience no doubt). I really don't think Milos put much pressure on Murray's game at all. If Murray got into a rally, he was certain it would be his point as Milos could not put any pressure on Murray during a rally (as such, it was pretty difficult for Murray to hit UE; in the Lopez match Murray was actually moved around during rallies, forcing UEs). The one thing that Milos could have done to put more pressure on Murray is on the 2nd serve but he nearly always just pushed back without much aggression. As such, the majority of the points Milos won (the serve and big forehand off of a serve) were expected and did not affect Murray's psyche. Murray knew that in a 5 setter, he would eventually read his serve and break sooner or later and take the set

I also liked that Milos really changed tactics towards the end by really coming into the net. But I think he needs to do that more, especially off his 1st serve when his opponent is just chipping it back like Murray was. Intead of trying to play an offbalance half-volley shot after a good chip return, if he replaced that with a swinging volley from just beyond the service line, that return would be neutralized. The other play I think he needs to do more is the body serve.

I totally agree with you here. No matter how good a returner is, he can only "chip" the return after a good serve by Milos. He cannot control the return most of the time. So S&V would always be in Milos' advantage when he's facing a good returner as in Murray.

I totally agree with you here. No matter how good a returner is, he can only "chip" the return after a good serve by Milos. He cannot control the return most of the time. So S&V would always be in Milos' advantage when he's facing a good returner as in Murray.

I hesitate to call what I am describing as S&V (which he does off his kick serve), but more just a different approach to handling deep returns by not letting it bounce, i.e. more of a groundstroke out of the air. I believe that most of the big servers don't serve and volley because they can't get anywhere near close enough to the net, which lets their opponent hit at their feet (even if not that hard), producing a pop up volley and lots of trouble for the server; this is why all the big servers became big serve big forehand off the short ball.

So what I propose is that instead of a pure serve and volley, when his opponent hits a deep float return (which Murray was basically always doing), instead of letting it bounce and having to play an off balance and awkward shot, have Milos take 2-3 steps into the court and blast a forehand out of the air from there. If he could do that, then he forces his opponent to really have to go for the return (which is almost impossible).

I would also add that he definitely needs to use more variety in his serves. Murray (and a few other players who do better than expected against his serve) exploit the fact that Milos uses 3 serves in both courts, which allows them to guess and be right half the time (though Murray was the first guy I have seen Milos play who didn't appear to be guessing....):

Deuce: It is always a bomb down the middle, bomb out wide or slice out wide.
Ad: Bomb down the middle, bomb out wide, kick out wide.

So I feel he needs to add the kick down the middle in the Deuce court (I feel he could make his opponent hit the ball from the complete opposite side of the court with this), slice down the middle in the Ad court and most importantly, bombs and slices at his opponent. I don't think he hit a single body serve against Murray, yet it clearly worked wonders against PMH when he started camping the wide kick 2nd serve in that match.

Thailand Open time. Good chance Milos gets Karlovic in Round 2. Not a great record against other fireball servers to date. Roddick, Querrey, Isner, Karlovic in an exhibition, 0-4. He was in all those matches so he`s due and capable. Indoor Hardcourt conditions similiar to San Jose, Memphis, etc. so you`ve got to like his chances and a possible finals rematch like Chennai with Tipsy.

I think Milos did really great to beat two top 10 players in Tokyo (Tipsy and Murray) and get to the final. Obviously it's disappointing that he lost, but I do think having two three setters against those two guys is draining both physically and mentally. He was missing a little bit of 'pop' in that final. Plus Kei played really well.

Disappointing to see him go down 0-6 in the final set but that aside, he played very well, especially considering he lost of Nieminen the week before. Wonder if he can keep it up in Shanghai? Hope he gets to the quarters anyway. Info I've seen saws the surface in Shanghai is faster than average.

I can't help but be a bit disappointed. He had a shot at the WTF, or at least an alternate spot. On the one hand, he doesn't really belong there yet. But on the other hand, the players around him left the door wide open. Almagro lost early in Shanghai and Tokyo. Monaco has lost early everywhere except Kuala Lumpur since the clay season. Tipsarevic has problems recently, Isner lost, Gasquet went out early in Beijing and Shanghai. He missed an opportunity to step up in Shanghai and Valencia. If he continues playing in a fog like this I don't expect much in Paris. Guess his year's pretty much done.

Even so, it's a good result for the year -- the ranking, two titles and two finals... not bad.

I can't help but be a bit disappointed. He had a shot at the WTF, or at least an alternate spot. On the one hand, he doesn't really belong there yet. But on the other hand, the players around him left the door wide open. Almagro lost early in Shanghai and Tokyo. Monaco has lost early everywhere except Kuala Lumpur since the clay season. Tipsarevic has problems recently, Isner lost, Gasquet went out early in Beijing and Shanghai. He missed an opportunity to step up in Shanghai and Valencia. If he continues playing in a fog like this I don't expect much in Paris. Guess his year's pretty much done.

Even so, it's a good result for the year -- the ranking, two titles and two finals... not bad.

I don't know if he's tired but he didn't look good in what I saw of yesterday's match. Also, is it me or is he not hitting as many aces as before? I haven't looked at stats and I like that he is using more variety with slice, kicker etc. but I also wonder if players are beginning to read it better.